Preview:

Royal Challengers Banglore:

AB de Villiers missed the match against Kolkata Knight Riders with a virus, and his absence was keenly felt with the South African having been in blistering form in the previous two matches. With their talismanic batsman out, Brendan McCullum scored 38 from 28 balls, and Virat Kohli – batting at number three – scored 68 not out, but the strike rates were well done on what De Villiers has been hitting. Should he return, McCullum could miss out and Kohli would return to opening the batting.

Manan Vohra was out first ball after being recalled to the side, leaving him with just two runs scored from his two matches so far, and his place could also be under threat. Colin de Grandhomme, batting at number six, has yet to be used for his bowling, however and so McCullum could be retained in place of his international team-mate. Alternatively, Chris Woakes may return if Royal Challengers Bangalore opt to change the balance of the team. Tim Southee played his first game of this year’s competition last time out but went wicketless.

Virat Kohli’s third half-century on this year’s competition took him past the 300-run mark for the 2018 IPL, and he trails orange cap leader Ambati Rayadu by just 12 runs after seven matches played each. He also overtook in-form team-mate AB de Villiers in the process, with de Villiers on 280 from his six innings so far. Prior to his virus, he smashed 90 not out from just 39 balls against Delhi Daredevils and followed it up with 68 from 30 against Chennai Super Kings.

Royal Challengers Bangalore’s defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders last time out was their second in a row and fifth of the season. Their most recent win came against Delhi Daredevils, when De Villiers 39-ball 90* saw them chase down 175 with two overs to spare. Since then, however, another De Villiers’ special was not enough as they failed to defend 205/8 against Chennai Super Kings and they lost their second home game in a row when Kolkata Knight Riders reached their target of 176 with five balls to spare on Saturday.

Mumbai Indians:

Having been unchanged for three consecutive matches, Mumbai dropped Kieron Pollard and Mustafizur Rahman for their game against Chennai Super Kings for JP Duminy and Ben Cutting. Neither had a big impact as Mumbai won by eight wickets – Cutting bowled one expensive over and neither batted – but changes to the batting order did pay off. Rohit Sharma promoted himself to three, and will likely stay there after hitting an unbeaten 56 from 33 balls. After ending their losing streak, Mumbai Indians will probably stick with the same line-up.

Suryakamur Yadav scored 44 at the top of the innings against Chennai Super Kings to take him to 274 runs for the season – comfortably the Mumbai Indians best batsman so far. Captain Rohit Sharma returned to form last time out too, with his unbeaten half-century (56 not out from 33 balls) taking him to 196 for the season. His other half-century came in the reverse fixture against Royal Challengers Bangalore, when he hit 94. With the ball, Mayank Markande went wicketless in the last match, but the leg-spinner has taken ten wickets so far, including 1/25 when they beat Bangalore at the Wankhede Stadium.

The win against Royal Challengers Bangalore in their fourth game of the season came after three consecutive last-over defeats for Mumbai Indians, against Chennai Super Kings, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Daredevils. They did not kick on from that win, however, losing in the last over again to Rajasthan Royals and being bowled out for 87 by Sunrisers Hyderabad before their much-needed win against Chennai Super Kings last time out. Chennai posted 169/5 from their 20 overs, but Mumbai lost just two wickets as Rohit Sharma led them to victory with two balls to spare.

Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Mumbai Indians Prediction:

Royal Challengers Bangalore may be favourites, but Mumbai Indians have beaten them once already this season and roared back into form just in time to face them again. Rohit Sharma can lead his side to another victory.